For Immediate Release:                                     Contact: Michelle Railsback or Carol Lish

January 17, 2008                                        (208) 235-5604

Simplot record holder returns to Games to run Coaches Clinic

POCATELLO, Idaho – Pole vaulter Pat Manson returns to Pocatello for the 2008 Simplot Games to watch athletes chase after the record he set over two decades ago.

“I follow high school vaulters, and so many times I thought the record would have been broken,” explained Manson. “This year will be a fantastic field of vaulters and it will be fun to return and watch since the Games are so fun and full of energy.”

Manson comes to the 2008 Simplot Games wearing many different hats – as a record holder, athlete, coach, and speaker.

Manson set the boys’ pole vault record at 17’6- ½” in 1986. This is also the U.S. high school indoor record, which still stands today. He finished his high school career with a personal best of 18’ (outdoors) and was a member of the World Junior Championships team.

Attending Kansas University, Manson became a seven-time NCAA Division I All-American, a Big Eight Conference champion, and set two NCAA national meet records at 18’6” and 18’8”. Manson’s professional career includes a five-time Olympic Trials competitor, a three-time Pan American Games champion, and a bronze-medalist at the 1998 Goodwill Games. He was twice ranked the top vaulter in the U.S. while also earning the sixth spot in the world rankings in 1998. His career-best height is 19’2-¼”.

Manson set a world record in 2006 for clearing 18’ in the pole vault for 21 years straight. He again cleared 18’ in 2007 and looks forward to attempting that height at the 2008 Games. Manson will be competing in the exhibition pole vault event scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

As a coach, Manson will be aiding his own athletes, a handful of top pole vaulters from Colorado who will chase after his record. Manson will be the first former athlete to ever return to the Games as a speaker. The Denver native will host the 2008 Simplot Games coaches’ clinic on Friday, December 15, at 7 p.m., at the Pocatello Red Lion Inn.

For more information on Simplot Games, please visit our website at www.simplotgames.com or you may contact Carol Lish at (208) 235-5604.

##